The Lies We Tell Ourselves
by TypicalOddities
Summary: Marinette loves Adrien. Chat Noir loves Ladybug. If Adrien can't love Marinette then maybe Ladybug can force herself to love Chat Noir.
1. Chapter 1

The sound of her pink purse dropping onto the wood floor seemed to echo in the stillness of the evening. Tikki, always eager to talk to Marinette whenever she had a problem, knew that this time there wasn't anything to be done. All the Kwami could do was watch as Marinette walked towards her bed and flop down silently.

She wasn't even crying, despite what had happened, which was the most worrying thing of all. There was no shock, no sadness, just an empty feeling where Adrien's name used to be. Marinette still loved him- of course she did. But the idea that she would ever be able to look him in the eyes after this was just so impossible.

Tikki watched for a few moments before nestling herself on the pillow next to Marinette's head.

"It will all be okay, Marinette." she tried to reassure her friend. "If he doesn't see what a great person you are then it means he just wasn't meant for you."

 _You're a great friend, Marinette but..._

A quiet sob finally escaped her throat as her mind echoed the words that Adrien had said to her just an hour earlier. She hated that Tikki made sense, she wanted to believe that there was still a chance that she could ever have a chance to the kind boy who she had loved for almost a year. Ever since that evening when Adrien had given her his umbrella it was as though she was drawn to everything that he was. It was as though he was a bright and beautiful light, and she was the moth that stupidly hurt themselves trying to get closer.

 _There's someone else who I like._

Of course there was another girl. How could there not be? Out of all the girls in Paris, why would he pay attention to the awkward and clumsy girl who sat behind him in class? Still, Marinette had always had hope. Every time she talked, or they spent time together she felt as though Adrien could just see her as she was. They grew closer and closer each day until... No. she didn't want to think anymore about today. Pulling the sheets over her head, Marinette curled in on herself as more tears fell from her eyes.

Tikki floated around the room and quietly started pulling pictures of the model off of the walls without a word. She knew that it would just be harder on Marinette to wake up to all those pictures staring at her. By the time she was done, Marinette was already asleep, no doubt exhausted from having her heart broken. The kwami layed back down on the pillow next to her for the next few hours, watching over her.

As the sun went down and the moon became more clear in the sky, she nudged her Miraculous holder awake.

"Marinette, I know you're upset but Chat's waiting for you." she said quietly. Of course she had decided to confess to the love of her life on a night where she would have to spend a few hours with her flirty partner. As if this day couldn't get anymore exhausting.

But Tikki was right, heartbreak or no she shouldn't just stand up her partner like that. Marinette sat up and attempted to fix her pigtails in the mirror. She looked awful, but maybe transforming would fix that. That always happened in cartoons and anime, right? Magic just fixes everything.

"Tikki, transform me." she said quietly.

Ladybug stood alone in her room now, without even her kwami to talk to her. The reflection staring back at her didn't look much better with her superhero outfit on. If anything, the mask made her eyes look even puffier and more blood-shot looking.

' _Maybe the dark will help hide it._ ' she thought in a half-hearted attempt to make herself feel more presentable.

She climbed onto the roof, looking around once before jumping off into the night.

Chat Noir sat atop a roof, the Eiffel Tower just in the distance. It wasn't the best view but it was always nice to see. He had almost considered not coming tonight with how bad he felt. He looked over the city with distant look as he recounted those few moments over and over in his head.

Marinette liked him, of course she liked him. How had it not been obvious before? Even Plagg seemed to have noticed, though he had never said anything. Stupid kwami. Maybe this is what it meant to really have bad luck. Losing the first friend that he had ever offered his hand to. Of course, that wasn't to say that Nino wasn't his friend, but Nino had given him no choice but to be friends with him (a fact that Adrien would always be thankful for). But Marinette was different somehow.

She was the first person at school to make him really laugh. She always invited him out to do things, she went out of her way for him even if she always seemed nervous. Of course she was nervous. How could he have been so blind to her feelings? She was also cute, he was able to see that much. But the idea of loving anyone other than Ladybug was simply impossible.

Maybe in another life if he hadn't been chosen to be the holder of the "bad luck" Miraculous he would have been able to see her in a different light. Yes, he was sure of that. Loving Marinette only made sense in a world where he really could be as normal as a famous model could be.

But he wasn't normal. He was Chat Noir and he was in love with his partner, Ladybug. The dark hair, the bluebell eyes, her features seemed to blur when looking directly at her. Perhaps that was one effect of the transformation- that no one could ever get a clear look at them no matter how long they stared. There was always a sense of mystery, a moment of confusion as to who they were.

Not that her looks were everything of course. Ladybug was smart and brave and witty and always had a plan. She was willing to do anything for the sake of saving Paris.

Even for the sake of saving Adrien Agreste.

In those few moments where Ladybug had almost handed over her Miraculous to save the illusion that took the form of himself, Chat Noir had felt scared, worried, and upset. But there had been something else hidden within the back of his head that he tried not to feel.

Happiness?

She had been willing to give herself up for the sake of seeing Adrien Agreste safe. Although he tried to tell himself that it wasn't personal, that Ladybug would have done the same thing for any number of people, something felt off. She had screamed a little too loud, looked a little too scared. It made him wonder whether Ladybug knew him under the mask, other than the posters of his face around the city,

The sound of something landing behind him snapped Chat out of his train of thought as he looked over his shoulder. There she was right in front of him, the love of his life, face partially hidden in the shadows.

"Good evening, my lady!" he smiled wide at her and dipped into an over-dramatic bow. She was quiet though, not saying a word as he looked back up.

"What's wrong?" he asked, taking a step towards her, starting to worry. " _Cat_ got your tongue?"

She just shook her head, not even really looking at him. Ladybug walked towards the edge of the roof, staring out at the city. It was then that he saw just how tired she looked. Well, just because _he_ was feeling bad it didn't mean that it was okay for _her_ to feel bad as well. Besides, making her feel better was sure to at least distract himself.

As long as his lady was happy, nothing else would matter.

"You can tell me if something is bothering you." he said, moving to stand next to her. "I will do anything to make you smile again." He flashed her his trademark smile.

Ladybug just shook her head. "It's nothing that you can help with." Ah, so there was something bothering her. "It's something that I have to deal with alone."

"But we're a team!" Chat protested. "We're supposed to be able to help each other out!" There had to be something, anything that he could do to make her feel better.

"That only counts when we're like this." she said, looking down at her gloved hands. "There's nothing that can be done once we're back to normal."

"I don't think there's anything normal about you." Chat protested. "I think you're extraordinary no matter what."

Ladybug just shook her head. "It's time to start the patrol. Let's just get going. I'll take the lead." And without letting him say another word, she was already swinging off to another building.

Cold air hit her face and cut through her as she swung from building to building. She was going fast tonight, faster than she should to do a proper patrol. Her mind couldn't even focus on anything other than going from building to building, feeling the wind in her hair, distracting her from thoughts of anything else. Swinging around was methodical, although her yo-yo did most of the work, she hardly had time to think of anything other than what to aim for next.

When she realized that she had gotten too far ahead, she would wait for her partner to catch up. He'd stumble a bit next to her, smile and say something cheesy or flirty, she'd roll her eyes and then she'd be off again.

Ladybug didn't want to admit, even to herself, that having her partner say so many nice things both helped and made her feel worse at the same time. She didn't want him to tell her how lovely he thought she was, or how brave or smart she was. In all actuality, she still wanted to be home and curling up in her own self loathing, even if she knew that wouldn't accomplish anything. All she wanted to do was to keep going, jump higher, run farther than she had ever done before. Perhaps if she just kept going like this then she could just escape everything- even herself.

After an hour, and after letting Chat catch up to her once again, she started to aim her yo-yo again but Chat grabbed her hand.

"How about... we take a break?" he panted. Seeing him out of breath made her feel bad for a moment. It hadn't even occurred to her that he might be tired. He was always such a endless ball of energy but she supposed that even he had his limits.

The hand holding the yo-yo lowered, and she saw him physically relax. Maybe she should have just split up the patrols for the night. It wasn't fair to him that she was dragging him down with her problems.

Again, she found herself walking to the edge of the building, and sitting down. Her own heart was racing still from the rush of adrenaline. Now that she had gotten her bearings, she realized that she was near her house again. Even when trying to run away, she always felt drawn to home. Perhaps tomorrow she'd be able to talk to her parents. They'd make her feel better, right?

Chat sat down next to her and looked over in the direction of the bakery. For a moment, she worried that he was connecting her to that place, but then he spoke.

"That's Marinette's house." he said. "We've run into her a few times with Akuma attacks, haven't we?"

It surprised her that Chat Noir remembered her name. She looked at him, trying to decipher his expression. There was nothing in his tone to indicate that he was just making small talk, but something in his face seemed off. Was he just trying to distract her from whatever he thought was upsetting her, or did he have some other reason to bring up her secret alter-ego?

"Yes." she finally agreed. "She was there when the Evillistrator attacked, and the Puppeteer."

Chat Noir smiled, seemingly happy that he had gotten a proper sentence out of her. "She was also there with Timebreaker and when Mylene turned into that monster. You know, a lot of Akumatized people have come from that school." he frowned.

"Probably because Chloe goes there." Ladybug mumbled to herself. Oh man, she wondered if Adrien was going to tell anyone that she had confessed to him. If Chloe found out that he rejected her then that would really be the end of it.

Chat frowned at her but kept his mouth shut. It looked like he wanted to say something about being nice to the fans that adored her but knew when to keep it to himself.

"Well if there's any place that can cause a bunch of negative feelings, it's school right?" he laughed, and despite herself, Ladybug grinned as well.

"There's that pretty smile I've been missing!" Chat said triumphantly. He turned and looked at her, and she found herself drawn to his eyes. Those impossibly green eyes that almost reminded her of Adrien.

He made another joke and she laughed again. It wasn't even a good joke but for some reason she just kept laughing until tears were streaking down her mask. She barely even noticed that her partner was looking at her with concern.

Ladybugs' arms were around him now, hugging him tightly as her laughter started to die down. His chest was broader than she had given him credit for. Chat's arms were around her tightly, holding her close as though he was afraid that she was gonna either have a full on break down or run off again.

She looked up at him, his wide green eyes almost consuming her. How could anyone's eyes be so green? Greener than grass, or leaves, or even Adrien's. Up close, she had never noticed how handsome he looked...

No. This wasn't right. Neither Ladybug nor Marinette held any romantic feelings for Chat Noir. It wasn't fair to be looking at him like this when she had just been rejected by the person who she really loved.

"My lady..."

His voice was soft. So soft that her whole body seemed to relax. She felt warm like this. Her brain felt fuzzy as his eyes looked into hers still full of concern. Of course he was concerned, she had him running around all night and then ended up in hysterics when she would normally just roll her eyes at his lame jokes.

' _Don't do it, Marinette._ '

She reached up and touched his face. Chat's eyes went from concern to mild surprise.

' _He deserves better than this.'_

She moved her face closer. From here she could see how pretty his golden hair complimented his eyes.

' _Marinette stop before you do something you're going to regret...!'_

Kissing his lips felt familiar. Not in the sense that she had kissed him once before, but in a way that made her feel almost nostalgic. She could feel him physically start in surprise but he was quick to not let this opportunity pass up. How could he? She was kissing him of her own free will. This is what Chat wanted, right?

Marinette wanted Adrien. Adrien didn't want Marinette. Chat Noir wanted Ladybug. At least one person should get what they wanted, right?

' _That's a terrible excuse and you know it.'_

Marinette tried to ignore the voice in her head that was reprimanding her by kissing Chat Noir harder. He held her tightly, giving her a sense of security that she didn't know she needed.

Minutes passed before they finally broke apart. Chat looked at her as though she was the most beautiful thing that he had ever seen. To him, Christmas had come early and Ladybug was the only thing he had ever wanted.

Ladybug smiled back at him, trying to convince both herself and him that this was a good thing. How it would work out, she wasn't sure. She knew that she had made a mess of everything tonight but in the end, as long as one person could be happy out of all this, maybe it'd be okay.

Maybe she could learn to love Chat Noir as much as he loved Ladybug.

' _You're a terrible person.'_

They stayed there for a while longer, Chat Noir holding Ladybug but not saying a word. She could feel him basking in the afterglow of the kiss.

' _You're using him as a rebound.'_

That didn't mean she couldn't learn to love him, right? As he finally stood up to bid her farewell they shared one last kiss before he ran off, jumping higher than usual. It was okay as long as he was happy, right?

' _Do you really think he'd be that happy if he knew the truth?'_

No, he wouldn't. But he didn't have to ever know. From now on, Ladybug and Chat Noir were going to be together. Marinette would ignore Adrien as best she could and use her sewing to distract herself. As long as she kept Marinette and Ladybug seperate from now on then...

' _Tikki is going to lecture you.'_

The voice was right, as soon as she was safe at home and out of Ladybug the small kwami went off on her but Marinette wouldn't have any of it. There was no way that she could listen to reason at this moment. The Kwami sighed and floated off downstairs to grab some food, realizing that right now, Marinette was in no shape or mood to listen to anyone.

Maybe in the morning she would wake up and decide that she doesn't love Adrien anymore. Maybe she really would learn to love Chat Noir. Maybe one day she'd be able to look Adrien in the eyes again without feeling shame and embarrassment.

And maybe one day she'd believe the lies she told herself.


	2. Chapter 2

It had taken all of his willpower to leave his lady on the roof that night, but Chat Noir knew that if he stayed there any longer he would never want to leave. He'd stay as long as he could, holding her until the sun rose.

His mouth was still pulled into a wide grin as he jumped and leapt from building to building back to the Agreste estate on the other side of town. His exhaustion from keeping up with Ladybug had suddenly vanished and was replaced with excitement and adrenaline. His lady (was she really _his_ lady now?) had kissed him. She had kissed him and he kissed her back and it wasn't a dream or a fantasy or anything else in his head.

He still didn't quite understand why she had done it, or what had been going through her head at the time but he almost didn't care. This had to mean something, right? It meant that Ladybug was finally starting to share his feelings that he had held for her since they had met. Maybe now they would stop keeping secrets from each other. Maybe now Ladybug would finally open up to Chat

Noir and they could be happy together.

Perhaps, he'd even be given the chance to learn who she was under her mask.

Finally landing at home and making his way into his room, Chat Noir changed back into Adrien Agreste. Even behind the mask he couldn't stop grinning like an idiot. It was a genuine smile that he would only ever have at school when spending time with Nino or any of his classmates.

Plagg quickly shook himself off, letting out a disgusted noise. "Blegh, you humans and your weird romance rituals." he scoffed before dive bombing into the mini-fridge that Adrien kept in his room. After what had just happened, Plagg had decided that he deserved all the camembert in Paris.

Adrien flopped on his bed, kicking his shoes off and staring at the ceiling. "I can't believe she likes me." he sighed, smiling.

"I can't believe it either." Plagg said, stuffing cheese in his mouth. "I mean how could anyone love anything other than food?"

The comment would have had no effect on Adrien had it not been for the next words out of Plaggs' mouth.

"What are the odds that two girls would confess to you on the same day!"

Oh.

Right.

Adrien's smile finally fell a bit as he sat up. In his excitement about Ladybug he had all but forgotten that Marinette had also confessed his feelings for him that afternoon. It was worrying to say the least. Would she hate him now? No, there was no way that Marinette could hate him. She was one of the nicest people in class. They were still friends, right?

"Plagg, why do you always say whatever comes to your mind?" Adrien groaned, covering his face with a pillow.

Plagg responded with an impressive burp. "What's it even matter? You got the love of your life now, right? You don't need anyone else!"

"Just because the only thing you need in your life is cheese, it doesn't mean that the rest of us live like that." Adrien retorted.

"Well whatever. I'm sure it'll all work out." the kwami yawned and plopped down on a pillow on the couch.

Adrien ignored the comment, removing the pillow from his face and looked up at the ceiling again. Would it really be okay? He didn't want to lose any of his friends. Even Chloe, who he knew could be mean sometimes (okay, maybe a little bit more than sometimes) was still a close friend to him.

Oh, he was going to have to tell her that he was seeing someone now, right? Adrien may have been totally clueless about Marinette but he at least knew that Chloe liked him as well, though her feelings seems to be mostly rooted in money and status. If he wanted to make sure that him and

Ladybug were going to have a healthy relationship then he'd have to come out and say that he was seeing someone.

 _'But what if you're thinking about this too much?'_

Oh how he didn't want that voice in his head to become any louder. He didn't want to think about that at all. There was nothing Adrien didn't want to think about more than the thought that maybe the kiss was just a mistake. That somehow Ladybug had kissed him but it hadn't meant as much as he thought it did.

He pulled the covers over himself, not even bothering to change into any pajamas. Nope, he was not going to think about any of that sad stuff anymore. He was just going to lay there and be happy that his lady (his lady!) had kissed him and held onto him. The next time he saw her, he would be sure to talk to her more.

With those thoughts, Adrien fell into an easy sleep; his dreams filled with ladybugs, kwamis and bluebell eyes.

Adrien Agreste had a very strict schedule. Every morning his alarm went off at 5:30. By six he was expected to be up and dressed and downstairs for breakfast and a rundown of his schedule by Natalie. At 6:30 he was required to study at least one of his extra-curricular activities (be it fencing, piano or Chinese) and at seven he was ushered into a car with the Gorilla and shipped off to whatever he was required to attend today.

Today, Adrien Agreste's schedule had been thrown off. Instead of going to school that morning, he was to show up for a quick photoshoot at one of his father's studios and was told that he would be allowed to return to school afterwards. Any other time he would have been upset to miss school, but thinking about seeing Marinette so soon after he had rejected her, made him think that maybe it would be best for her not to see him yet.

At the studio, he was ushered into makeup and wardrobe where he was to be modeling for his fathers new collaborative like with some company that Adrien didn't catch the name of. It was a fall collection filled with rich browns and golds- the kind of warm colors that complimented him so well.

It was hot though, wearing long sleeves in the middle of summer even with the AC in the building turned on. Being a model gave a very weird sense of time. Though Fall wasn't for another two months, it meant that that they wanted to start pushing the line as soon as possible. For Adrien, seasons always seemed to start months before they were supposed to.

Natalie showed up once Adrien was dressed and ready. "Today you will be working with another model who your father personally picked." she informed him. "I believe you already know her, she goes to your school."

This came as a surprise. Had had worked with plenty of other models in the past, but as far as he knew there wasn't anyone else at the school who was also a model, let alone someone who his father had chosen. As far as he knew, his dad _never_ picked out any models besides himself.

He walked with Natalie down the hallway towards the set they would be using. It was impressive, at least for him. The set was set up like a forest, filled with fake trees that seemed to be dulled on purpose. Probably to make the colors of the wardrobe stand out more.

"Also we have a journalist here to interview you from a weekly magazine." Natalie continued on. "So watch what you say today."

 _'You mean "don't say or do anything that will tarnish the Agreste name."'_ Adrien thought to himself, rolling his eyes. Oh well, it wasn't like he wasn't used to this whole routine.

Adrien sat himself on a bench in the middle of the set. He guessed that he was supposed to be sitting in some sort of muted, artsy park. Around him, he could already see cameras flashing in his direction as they adjusted the lights.

From the opposite side of the room where he entered, the door opened and his eyes widened in surprise. There stood a girl with long brown hair and dim hazel eyes. Around her neck, was a small charm that looked like a fox tail.

"Lila?!" Adrien gaped as the girl smiled and practically skipped over to him.

"Hello again, Adrien!" she cooed, sitting down next to him on the bench and facing him. It was almost like that day from a few weeks ago. The two of them sitting on a park bench as she showed off her foxtail necklace.

"I- uh- Hello!" Adrien stammered back. Lila had made up so many stories about things she had done and people she knew that the idea that one of her stories was true had left him speechless.

"I didn't know that you were also a model."

"Well I am now." Lila replied with a smirk on her lips, once again she held out her necklace proudly. "I really am surprised that you didn't notice before. After all, this necklace does come from your father's line of jewelry."

"What?!" Adrien gaped at her, mouth open in shock. There was no way that was true. No, this had to be another one of her lies. There was no way that Adrien was that clueless about his father's work that he hadn't realized that the necklace originally came from the Agreste line.

"Well, just because I was caught in one lie with you doesn't mean that other people caught me." Lila continued. "When my interview with the LadyBlog blew up, your father contacted me personally to help promote this line."

This couldn't be happening. Even someone like Lila couldn't possibly making up something like this with all these people around. But this HAD to be fake, right? Adrien was sure this was just some crazy story. Still though, why would she lie when she was still right there in front of him getting ready for the shoot? But Natalie _had_ said that her father had picked out the model for this like personally...

That's when Natalie quickly hurried on set, holding out a tablet to him. His father was on video call, looking as stern as ever.

"I thought it would be good for you to work with someone your own age for this shoot." the head of the Agreste household said. "We're promoting our collaborative line as well as a collection of jewelry for the upcoming fall season. I believe that you've already noticed Miss Lila's necklace and earrings."

So she was telling the truth. That also meant that Adrien was just as clueless as he feared. Shoot.

"As usual, I expect the best from you. Don't let me down." and without letting Adrien say a word at all, the call hung up.

There was nothing that needed to be said after that. It wasn't as though Adrien wasn't used to the sudden calls that barely let him say anything, but it still felt off. He glanced again over at Lila, looking at her earrings. For a moment he had to bite his tongue to keep himself from gasping in shock.

Lila was wearing Ladybug's earrings.

Or at least, a very convincing fake pair. They had to be fake, of course they were fake! Why on earth would Lila have Ladybugs' Miraculous? It wasn't as though this was the first time he had seen girl walk around with earrings similar to Ladybugs. They were all just trying to be like their hero. But Lila didn't even like Ladybug.

 _'Like that really matters. She's being paid to wear them. Of course she'd still wear them.'_

But that didn't explain why his dad had crafted such a pair to begin with. Was this some sort of tribute after Ladybug had saved him from Jackady? Or was it...

 _The book._

In the brief moments that he had been able to glance at the book before it had been lost he swore he saw those earrings on the page that had shown what looked to be Ladybug. None of this was making any sense to him at all. Why make earrings that look like Ladybugs and why bring in a girl who had told the world that she was friends with ladybug and then had been Akumatized?

There wasn't any time to think about that now though, as the director of the shoot started calling for the two to get ready.

Lila was more than happy to be on set, flaunting the clothes that had been prepared for her. For someone who didn't have much experience, Adrien had to admit that she really looked like she knew what she was doing. As the shoot progressed, the director called out to them to do different things; point at something in the distance, lay Lila's head on Adrien's lap (which he was sure she kept blinking on purpose to stay there for a bit longer, though he would never say anything), and even once they tried to get Adrien to climb one of the fake trees.

All of those things were fine by him, it wasn't as though this was his first time shooting with a girl.

But now that he was a bit older, the shoots were starting to get just a little more intimate than he was comfortable with. Adrien stood there with his arms awkwardly around the girl and looking into her eyes, but no matter what direction he was given they just could not seem to get the shot that they wanted.

"I'm sorry!" Adrien sighed. "I guess I just don't really know what you're asking me to do."

"I want you to look at her like you're in love with her." the director said slowly, as if doing that would make it anymore clear.

"I just don't know how to do that when I don't feel that way about her." Adrien tried to explain, but it was a lousy excuse.

"Don't be so shy, Adrien!" Lila exclaimed, pulling him closer. "It's just a silly photoshoot, I know it doesn't mean anything." She said that but her smile seemed to say something else, something that Adrien wasn't sure he wanted to know.

"Let's just try one more time." the director sighed with annoyance. "Just look into her eyes and hold it. I'm sure we'll be able to use something."

As it turned out, that something seemed to fly in from the outside as an assistance walked in through the back entrance. A small red bug flew around the room once before landing right on Lila's cheek.

For a moment, both of them looked surprised. Lila started to move her hand upwards as if to try and shoo the ladybug it away but Adrien grabbed her hand, staring intensely at the small red bug that perfectly matched her earrings. He could hear the quick clicking and flashing of cameras as the director seemed ecstatic, yelling about how this was exactly what he wanted.

The corner of Adrien's lips turned upwards as he continued to stare at the ladybug on Lila's face as she continued to stare at him in return with surprise. She had no idea that the boy in front of her could smile so warmly at something.

"And that's a wrap!" the direct finally yelled. He was nearly jumping for joy at the footage he had gotten. Everyone clapped for a moment before starting to break down the set. Adrien released Lilas' hand and the ladybug flew off.

Lila looked as though she was about to say something, but Natalie quickly stepped up and started directing Adrien towards a young woman who was holding up her camera phone.

"This young lady wanted to ask you a few questions for her magazine." Natalie said. "You have five minutes." she added sharply to the girl.

"R-Right!" the girl nodded as she fumbled with a notepad in one hand and the phone in the other.

"I-I'm Rachel with the magazine Paris Weekly. We're a small magazine that's just starting up that's about different things that go on in the city and we really appreciate that you'd take the time to talk to us, thanks."

This poor girl really had a thing for run-on sentences. That or she had originally written her intro down and just went too fast. Either way, Adrien knew how to deal with most types of journalists.

"Sure, I'd be glad to answer whatever questions you have." he replied easily. He could see her

relax as she decided that he wasn't like his harsh handler, Natalie.

"Okay, cool, uhm-" she fiddled with her notebook again. "First question: What is your favorite part about modeling?"

It was such an amateaur question that Adrien couldn't help but smile. This was gonna be an easy interview, he could tell. He recited the answer that he had repeated over and over for years now.

"It's really cool that I get to travel a lot and meet new people." he replied almost robotically. "I like being able to see many different types of people and different standards of fashion."

Rachel seemed fine with that answer and continued. "Can you tell us anything about this collection that you're doing right now?"

Another easy one. "Sure, this is up comming from my father's Fall line. It's a collaborative work with an Italian designer that I can never pronounce the name of." Okay so that was only a half-truth. He honestly had no idea who the second company was but he was sure that even if he did he wouldn't be able to pronounce it. Ironically, Chinese came easy to him. Italian did not.

"How about Lila?" Rachel continued asking. "I overheard that you two go to the same school, is that true?"

Of course it wouldn't be a real interview without some form of gossip squeezed in there. Adrien couldn't really blame her, especially for a magazine that was just getting started. He wasn't stupid, he knew that the fastest way to get someone to read your magazine was to gossip about someone.

Still though, he didn't like dragging his personal life into the media.

"Ah, yes we do go to the same school but she's a grade higher than me." he said dismissively, hoping that would be enough.

"Hmm..." she looked over at her notes frantically as Natalie coughed impatiently behind them.

"You can ask one more question." Natalie said.

"Ah, right!" more desperate flipping though the notes as Rachel attempted to look for something to

ask that would take her interview to the next level. "Oh! As of last week, it was reported that you had been seen dangling from the Eiffel Tower by the girl known as Volpina."

Now that caught Adrien's attention. Of course, as himself, he had to pretend that he had no idea what she was talking about. _That_ Adrien had been nothing more than an illusion while the "real" Adrien had been home safe the entire time taking a shower. However, he had never expected anyone to ask about it. In fact he had thought that no one had seen that at all.

"Can you tell me what happened there?" she asked.

"That wasn't really me." Adrien replied. "I heard that girl had powers of illusion, so she only made it _look_ like I was being dangled off the tower. I was actually at home the entire time."

She seemed disappointed in the answer. Clearly it wasn't as juicy of a story as she had hoped.

"Do you have any comments at all about Ladybug trying to rescue you?" she pushed, but Natalie grabbed his arm.

"That's all the time we can give you." Natalie said before Adrien could say anything. In fact there were LOTS of comments that Adrien had about Ladybug but maybe it was good that Natalie was dragging him off. He wasn't sure how good it would be if he accidentally let something slip about his feelings towards the girl who almost gave up everything to save him.

"You know, I was there when Volpina was fighting Chat Noir and Ladybug." a voice echoed next to them. Lila had appeared next to them and was pushing herself in view of the camera that Rachel was holding. "I could tell you all about it."

Oh did that seem like a bad idea. Was Lila REALLY going to be so self-absorbed as to give a recount of what happened when she herself was Volpina?! How dare she?! Who cared if there were only three people who knew about her identity? Just because Alya hadn't been able to find out who Volpina was, let alone have the chance to post about it on the LadyBlog it didn't mean that she had the right to just tell more lies!

But Adrien wasn't able to say any of that. Not without giving away what he really knew, and especially not with Natalie dragging him away back towards the car. He never stood a chance like this.

Adrien was taken home for a quick lunch before heading back to school. The shoot had run on longer than he had anticipated but at least he wasn't going to miss the whole day.

As he walked into class, he was greeted by a few friends. Small shouts of "welcome back!" along with an overly-enthusiastic hug from Chloe put his mind at ease. He felt happy at school, normal even.

That was, until his eyes scanned the room and found himself looking at the girl who sat behind him. Marinette wasn't looking at him, or anyone really. She was laying her head on the desk, almost looking like she was asleep. Next to her, Alya looked over at Adrien, back to Marinette and then back at Adrien again. He didn't even have to ask what was wrong. It was clear that Alya knew what had happened between them. She didn't look angry though, but there was clear pity in her eyes for her friend and an emotion that he couldn't quite place when she looked at him.

Nino grabbed his arm and pulled him down to his seat. "Alya says she'll be okay." Nino said before Adrien could get a word out. "But it's probably best if you give Marinette some space."

So Nino knew as well. He must have heard it from Alya, they were dating after all. But it still made him wonder.

"Does anyone else know?" he asked quietly as the teacher walked into class.

"No, just us four. Don't worry, Alya and I agreed that we won't tell anyone."

That was a relief at least. Not for Adrien's sake but for Marinette. More than anything, he didn't want anything to hurt her anymore than he already had. It was unfair really, that Marinette had put herself out there for him, and for him to get Ladybug in the same night. Sure that wasn't his fault but he wanted his friend to have happiness too.

Maybe someday, if she ever forgave him, he'd find a way to do something nice to her. Maybe send more of her designs to his dad. She did make that hat once, or-

"For the next section, we will be covering Shakespeare plays." the teacher started, writing on the chalkboard. "Please open your textbooks to page..."

Yeah, anything having to do with fashion he was sure she'd like. Oh man, now that he had seen

her he really didn't want her to hate him.

"...Will be pairing you all up for the next project. You will each pick a Shakespeare play and recreate a scene in your own style-"

What if he got her to go see one of the fashion shows? He wouldn't even have to say that it was from him directly. He could just have a ticket sent to her.

"Chloe and Sabrina... Nathaniel and Mylene..."

This was almost too much for Adrien to handle. He had so severely underestimated how much

Marinette meant to him as a friend before now. But Nino and Alya were right, for now he had to keep his distance from her. She needed space and time to heal.

"Marinette and Adrien."

"What?!"

Adrien froze for a moment at the near shriek that came from behind him. Marinette had shot her head up in alarm at the pairing that had just been called.

"No 'butts' Marinette. You know my ruling is final." the teacher reprimanded. Adrien couldn't even bring himself to turn around and face her. He could only imagine what expression her face held.

Beside him, he could hear Nino say "bummer, dude." and he was sure that Alya was quietly trying to find a way to resolve this in her head. Alya was always the first to jump into an awkward situation to try and fix it. Adrien sighed.

So much for keeping his distance out of respect.


	3. Chapter 3

It felt like it hadn't even been but a few seconds that Marinette had closed her eyes to sleep that she was awoken by her phone going off every few moments. It was light out now, and Tikki was buzzing around her desk and bringing the cell phone over to the Miraculous holder.

Without even bothering to sit up, Marinette looked at her phone and frowned. Alya had called her several times since last night, leaving many texts and voice mails. It looked as though even Nino had tried to call her once or twice, though she was sure that Alya was just hoping to get a hold of her through his phone.

A glance at the time on her phone told her that she was already late for school. Not that this was any different from any other day- Marinette had never been the best at waking up early to get to school even before she was a super hero. Today wasn't the same though. Any other day she would have shot up in a panic and rushed to get ready for school but instead she set her phone face down on the bed again and pulled the covers over her head. She was tired, sad, and confused and all she wanted to do was sleep. It wouldn't be that hard to convince her parents that she needed a day off. As good as she was at being late, Marinette rarely missed school completely.

As if on cue, a quiet knock came from the trap door. "Marinette?" her mother called, before opening the hatch. "Marinette, you're late for school again."

Marinette poked her head out from under the covers, looking over at her mom. "Sorry, mom. I'm just... not feeling well today." It wasn't a complete lie, she did feel awful and exhausted from having her heart broken and going out on patrol last night with...

No. No she wasn't ready to think about that yet.

Sabine's eyes filled with motherly concern as she climbed up into her daughters' room. "You do look pale." she commented, setting her hand Marinette's forehead. "Hm, no fever though..."

"It's my stomach." Marinette said quickly. Her voice sounded dry and patchy from just waking up, nothing a cough and a drink of water couldn't fix but for the moment it helped her play up the part.

With a nod, Sabine said "Alright, you stay home and rest and maybe after lunch you'll feel better enough to go to school." she kissed her forehead. "I'll be back soon to check on you and get you something easy to eat."

"Thanks mom, you're the best." Marinette replied while her mom climbed back down out of her room.

Once the coast was clear, Tikki settled herself on the pillow next to Marinette's face with a disapproving look. "Marinette, you can't hide forever." she said. "It's not good for you to fake sick and avoid your friends."

Although she agreed, Marinette still wasn't ready to face what waited for her at school. She didn't want to see Adrien, or the pity looks from Alya and Nino. It was too much to think about.

When Marinette didn't respond, Tikki sighed and nudged the phone against her hand. "If you won't talk to me, then you should at least tell Alya that you aren't feeling well. You know that she's worried about you after last night."

Marinette stared at the phone for a few minutes before finally looking at all of her unread texts from the past few hours. They ranged from "Go get 'em girl! You got this!" to "I just heard from Nino, I'm so sorry" to finally "Come on please talk to me, I'm so worried". For a moment, seeing Alya so worried for her made her feel bad for ignoring all of the texts and calls.

It took a few minutes but she finally decided on what to say. If anything, Alya at least deserved the truth about something.

 **Marinette: I'm sorry I didn't reply. I don't wanna think about what happened. I'm staying home today.**

It was a lame responce, but it was all Marinette could think of as her mind flashed with green eyes. Adrien's eyes... no, Chat Noir's eyes. NO.

"I kissed Chat Noir." she said out loud. "I can't believe I did that."

Though Tikki had scolded her last night, Tikki simply nodded this morning knowing that Marinette was already beating herself up over everything that had happened within the past day. "You need to tell him how you feel." the kwami said. "It's not fair to him to kiss him after what happened."

That would be the right thing to do, yes. But as she thought back to that moment just a few hours ago, a blush swept across her face. Chat Noir had been so kind to her, had held her so close and for just a few minutes he seemed to make the world disappear. It wasn't right, she knew it wasn't right at all but why did that have to mean that it was completely bad?

She finally sat up and looked out the window, contemplating what to do. To try and start something with Chat Noir would so easy and so complicated at the same time. If his feelings were real (and by now she was sure that they were), then he would happily accept her no matter what. And Chat meant the world to her, she'd do anything to make him happy. It was a win-win in theory. He would distract her from the reality of being Marinette and in turn she could give him Ladybug.

 _How can you be so selfish?_

It's not really being selfish if both people are happy, right?

 _Why are you lying to yourself?_

"I'm not going to tell him" Marinette said. "I... want to try with him."

"But Marinette you can't possibly think that it's a good idea to start dating your partner!" Tikki protested. "If things get messy and either of you gets hurt then it'll affect your teamwork!"

It wasn't a point that Marinette had expected Tikki to make. In fact it was a very good point that she hadn't even thought about. What if something DID happen and things got messy? She couldn't stand it if she lost both Chat and Adrien.

"I'll talk to him next patrol." Marinette promised Tikki. "You're right, I can't put all of Paris in danger because of something like this."

Tikki seemed to sigh in relief and smiled brightly. "That makes me feel better."

"That makes one of us." Marinette replied, sighing heavily.

Marinette's phone beeped again and she glanced down at the screen. Alya had replied to her message.

 **Alya: Don't tell me that you're hiding from this, girl. I'm seriously worried about you!**

Marinette frowned at the message, typing back quickly.

 **Marinette: There's no way I'd be able to face him after what happened yesterday. I just can't do it.**

The reply was almost instant.

 **Alya: Adrien isn't even here today. Nino says he's at some photoshoot.**

 **Marinette: It doesn't matter. I just want a day to think about what I'm supposed to do about this.**

 **Alya: You aren't going to get anywhere thinking about this alone. I'm coming to get you at lunch time.**

 **Marinette: Don't.**

 **Alya: Nino has already volunteered to carry you if he has to. We're your friends, we want to help you out.**

 **Marinette: ...How many people know what happened?**

 **Alya: Just the 4 of us. Don't worry, we promised to keep it a secret. Besides, it's friday. You have all weekend to avoid him.**

Alya had a point. Alya always had a point. Why did she have to be right about everything? She knew that if left on her own, Marinette would just end up even more of an emotional wreck. Marinette suddenly felt a wave of gratitude for her best friend, that she had someone who always knew how to deal with her when she was freaking out.

 **Marinette: Alright. I'll come back after lunch.**

 **Alya: Good! I'll see you then!**

"I'm going back to school after lunch." Marinette informed Tikki, who flipped around in front of her face.

"I'm so proud of you!" Tikki squeaked. "I know this will be hard, but I know that you are stong enough to figure everything out with Adrien and Chat Noir."

Marinette gave her kwami a small smile. It was a nice thought that someone believed in her that much. It wasn't going to be easy but maybe she would be able to turn this situation around. Yeah, she was sure that it'd be okay as long as she avoided Adrien for a while. Maybe she'd spend her weekend with Alya, or maybe even ask Juleka and Rose if they wanted to go shopping. Hell, maybe she'd even invite Nathanael to go out and draw with her (as friends, of course.)

Yes, starting today she was going to be okay.

* * *

Everything was not okay.

Nino had apparently failed to mention that Adrien's photo-shoot was only supposed to last until the end of lunch, which was exactly when Marinette had agreed to come back. Even Alya had given her boyfriend a disapproving look while Nino frantically tried to apologize to Marinette.

Those few hours of hope that Marinette had been clinging too had vanished just as quickly as they had come. She had barely captured a glimpse of Adrien on her way to the classroom when it felt like the world was going to collapse under her feet. Her heart seemed to beat painfully in her chest as her stomach tied up into a painful knot. Every inch of her skin seemed to cool down, leaving her feeling numb and yet in so much pain.

Looking down at the court, she could see Adrien smiling as he greeted his classmates. In fact, it looked like he was smiling even more brightly today, but maybe that was just her imagination. Maybe everyone just looked happier when you were feeling so down.

Once Alya had seen what Marinette was looking at, she quickly pulled her away and into the classroom. Marinette slumped into her seat and laid her head down on her own desk, practically willing herself to disappear. Briefly she wondered if this is how people felt right before they were akumatized and if the same thing would happen to her. How ironic would that be?

She could practically see it in her mind now. Maybe she'd be something like Kim had been when he had become Dark Cupid and try and stop everyone else from loving. No, that didn't seem right- most of the victims had been much more angry with the person who wronged them, and Adrien hadn't wronged her. Marinette wasn't even mad at him, even a little bit.

Mostly, Marinette was just mad at herself.

Alya scooted next to Marinette and placed a hand on her back, trying to comfort her. "How about we hang out tonight?" she suggested. "I can come over and we can eat leftover bakery products and watch terrible movies and stay up all night and wake up tomorrow with a sugar hangover so bad that we won't even remember what boys even are."  
It was a tempting idea, and even though she found herself wanting to agree, Marinette shook her head. She had patrol tonight and she needed to talk to Chat Noir before anything else.

If anything, she could at least do that.

"I can't tonight." Marinette said, and when she saw Alya starting to open her mouth to protest, she continued. "I have to help mom and dad in the bakery tonight. We had a huge special order come in and they need me." It was a believable enough excuse, it wasn't like it was the first time she had been able to blame her inability to hang out or not show up for something on her parents job.

Before her friend could reply, Marinette heard an obnoxious shreik from the other side of the classroom. Oh boy, Chloe was running to the front of the room, happily greeting someone. It didn't take much to figure out that Adrien had made his way into the classroom. Honestly, it was bad enough that she had to see him so soon, but did she really have to hear Chloe greet him so loudly? It was enough to make her feel sick for real.

When Chloe decided to return to her seat, air in their corner of the room seemed to feel heavier. Though she couldn't hear what was being said, Marinette was sure that Nino and Adrien were talking about her. Their voices were hushed, and she swore she could hear Alya's name and her own.

When the teacher came in and started talking about the new section that they were going to be working on today, Marinette tried her best to focus on that instead of the person sititng directly in front of her. Shakespeare. She didn't know much about the bard other than the play Romeo and Juliet but even then she could only really recount the balcony scene and the deaths at the end.

Balcony...

Seeing the top of Adrien's head from the lowered level of the classroom her mind drifted just for a second to a vision of the two of them in old costumes and him looking up at her as she called out to him.

 _Stop that. You don't get to think about that anymore._ She scolded herself.

The project was to recreate a scene from any play in any style that they wanted. She was sure that between her and Alya they could make something great. Marinette wondered if there were any plays other than Romeo and Juliet that would be less-painful to do.

"Chloe and Sabrina... Nathaniel and Mylene..."

Oh, of course they were getting assigned partners. Well, at least it was guarenteed that she wouldn't have to work with Chloe. Even if she didn't do anything with Alya, she was fine with anyone. Nino would turn a play into some sort of cheesy dramatic movie, Juleka would probably choose the most creepy play to do and Adrien- No. There was no way she'd get put with Adrien.

Right?

"Marinette and Adrien..."

"What?!" Marinette had nearly jumped out of her seat as she stared at the teacher in horror.

"No 'butts' Marinette. You know my ruling is final." the teacher scolded. Marinette slumped back down, crestfallen at this whole thing. Had this been just a few days ago, she was sure that this would be the greatest day of her life. It would have been a cause for celebration and total panic, but in a good way. Alya would be coaching her on how to focus on the project and get to know Adrien at the same time.

Marinette felt a hand on her shoulder, and looked over at her best friend who was trying to give the best reassuring smile that she could. Marinette tried to return the smile but glancing at the back of Adrien's head made her heart sink. Hopefully this wouldn't be too hard of a project and wouldn't take that much time.

"I'm handing out the instructions right now." The teacher said. "Each presentation should be at least 5 minutes and not going over 8. We will start presenting them next Friday. That gives you a full week to collaborate with your partner and decide on what to do. If you need help picking out any plays, don't hesitate to come and talk to me."

Marinette had a feeling that this was going to be a long week.

* * *

Marinette was the first one out the door when the bell rang for the end of the school day. The sooner she got away from Adrien, the better. It wasn't fair to him, she knew that. They'd have to talk to each other eventually so that they could work on their project but right now she needed to worry about seeing Chat tonight.

It wasn't usual for her to do patrol on Fridays. They had evenly split up the days so that they could still do what normal civilian's do. Typically, Ladybug would patrol on Sunday, Monday, and Wednesday alone, while Chat took over Tuesday, and Friday, while Thursdays and Saturdays they did together if possible.

Marinette had no idea what Chat Noir did when he wasn't Chat, but she did understand that he seemed to have an actual job that kept him busy most of the time. Whatever he did, it was clear to her that he'd rather be out as Chat, than whatever he had to do when he wasn't.

Maybe now would be a good time to get to know the team mate that she had grown to trust.

Thoughts of tonight's meeting with Chat Noir clouded her head as she made it home. She greeted her parents and yes, she was feeling much better, yes, she was well enough to eat whatever her father made for dinner.

She felt guilty not telling her parents about what had happened. It wasn't exactly a secret in the bakery that their daughter was completely smitten with the Agreste boy. Marinette promised to tell them what had happened, just as soon as she was finished talking to Chat. Marinette really was lucky to have such a supportive family who loved her so much.

Night time fell quickly over Paris, and as she anxiously watched the clock trying to decide if it was late enough that Chat would be out yet, her pocket began to buzz.  
Pulling out her phone, Marinette looked down at the caller ID and her face went pale. Adrien was calling her. Oh no, this wasn't good. She wasn't ready to talk to him, yet.

"Marinette, answer it!" Tikki squeaked beside her. But Marinette just shook her head. No way!

Tikki had other plans though as she swooped in quickly and hit the "accept call" button on the phone, causing Marinette to let out a panic noise and almost drop the phone.

"Uh... hello?" came Adrien's voice from the other end. "Marinette?"

Scrambling and sending a glare to her kwami, Marinette gave in and held the phone to her hear.

"Y-yeah. I mean hi!" She panicked, not sure what else to say. "I mean, of course it's me."

"Right. Hey, I know that this is probably not a good time. But we need to meet up soon to work on this project so I was wondering what time would be good for you?"

Adrien's voice sounded rushed, as if he were nervous. That didn't make any sense to her, what would he be nervous about? After all she was just Marinette.

"I uhm..." she studdered again, trying to remember her schedule. Other than patrols, she didn't think she was busy this weekend. She wished she was.

"I'm good any time this... this weekend before eight." she managed to blurt out, louder than she had planned to.

"Ah, cool. Do you want to come over to my place tomorrow then?" he asked her as though he hadn't completely shattered her heart the previous day.

Marinette nodded before realizing that he couldn't see her. "Y-yeah. I'll come over tomorrow." she said. "How's noon...?"

"Sounds good to me." She could almost hear the smile in his voice. Was he actually happy to see her?

After a few seconds of awkward silence, Adrien finally said that he had to go and they said their goodbyes.

"See? That wasn't so bad, Marinette!" Tikki said, floating up to hug her cheek. Although she was still a bit upset, Marinette did feel a bit better.

"It's too soon for celebrating." Marinette said. "First we have to find Chat Noir and talk to him. Tikki, spots on!"

And just like that she was off into the night, searching for the boy that she had kissed the night before.


End file.
